I know it’s called the blues but this was so big and joyful and FUN. Loved the crowd noise. Great way to kick things off.
can’t believe I got one of the greatest albums of all time SECOND. like where do I even go from here?
she was such a talent, but - with the exception of stronger than me - the songs on this particular record felt rather forgettable. still an absolutely knock your socks off debut though. now back to black on the other hand….
Bands simply don’t band the way they used to! The hits are hits for a reason but I was honestly most taken with Planet Caravan. It’s always nice to have a moment of calm in the storm and being able to do both types of song at this level is something else entirely
For better or worse I love this little freak, even when he’s singing to me about dry ice factories. Heaven is super underrated.
A better time machine than the Delorean
Ohh yeah this was a bit of me. Really struggled with whether to give this 4 or 5 stars just because I'm hesitant to 5 star things I've only listened to once, but I see this growing into a real favorite for me. I love "over-indulgent" passion projects, I love genre salad, I love 14 minute long album closers, and I loooove dorky space psychedelia. Title track is an all timer.
Really wish this hadn’t come up as my first Rolling Stones album but it was a good listen and perfect for a long walk on a nice day. Maybe my dad had a point after all!
Really loved this. I'd never listened to Sly apart from watching Summer of Soul with my boyfriend, but listening to this album immediately transported me to that joy-filled park in the sunshine. (And I listened to it in a corporate slop bowl place so that's no small feat.) Saw this in another comment, so not an original though, but I've rarely listened to a studio album that so effectively captures the live experience.
I grew up listening to a lot of slightly more contemporary protest music, so it was cool to hear some of its roots. Excited to put this one in rotation as the weather gets warmer - and god knows we need music like this right now.
Really lovely and transportative. I admittedly don't know much about this kind of music, but I'm glad to have listened to this.
I'm sure this was very fresh in its time, but it reminded me of a random A24 movie soundtrack unfortunately.
Forgot about most of this as I was listening to it :( Way more Jesus-y than I was expecting! The extra star is literally just for Fire And Rain (although Steamroller Blues got really close to canceling that out).
For whatever reason, it always takes me a few minutes (or songs in this case) to acclimate to Neil Young’s voice. But once I do, it always kind of bowls me over. That may be why, but I was far more taken with the back half of this album than the front. Maybe the first few tracks just need to grow on me, but Running Dry specifically was a stunner.
Like reviewing 7 different albums. No one jumps through genres quite as much (or as smoothly!) as these guys. Imagine writing bohemian rhapsody and then putting it on the same album as im in love with my car. generational! only knocking down to 4 because some of the non-BH songs were a bit forgettable.
I bet my good friend Dolores Abernathy would have loved this, but for better or worse I am human.
Really really loved this. Giving it a 4 only because its SO Nick Drake adjacent (and Nick Drake does Nick Drake better) but excited to add this one to the rotation.
None of y’all see the vision here. It’s like if Oogie Boogie from Nightmare Before Christmas started a band. That being said, I’ll probably never listen to it again.
pleasant background music, not much more
I already know I’m gonna love the suburbs by arcade fire a 5/5, so I’m not gonna be a hypocrite and dock Morrissey here even though he’s obviously a dick. For better or worse, I am Zooey Deschanel from 500 Days Of Summer, I just hope I’m less twee about it. If this wasn’t a 5 star album already, the Kieran Culkin bus meme would put it straight over the edge.
I've tried so hard, but I just don't love listening to jazz music. I'm sure this is a great album for those that do though.
Solid, down the middle dad music (complimentary)
god I would have gone FERAL if I was 20 when this came out. the end button to enjoy the silence is so goated
pleasant enough listen but I also love thesmithsthecureoasisduranduranetc so what does that really do about this album that came after all of them? animal lover was a good track though.
also welcome to soapbox corner: if you’re going to have two songs on your album with the same word in the title (“animal” in this case) they HAVE to be two halves of a whole or speak to each other in some way. otherwise pick a different word!!! write about something else!!!
Didn’t love this as much as I wanted to :( Patti is obviously SO influential but the album itself…idk. Gloria is a RIPPER of an opening track and Elegie is perfect but the stuff in the middle just felt kind of muddled to me
I think I like the idea of Queen a lot more than I actually like listening to them. This, like A Night At The Opera, felt like the soundtrack for a movie that I haven't seen (and don't really have any intention of seeing). Maybe it's a matter of time and place, but - through no fault of Freddie and co. - the 6 train is definitely not that time nor that place. All of this works better for me as needle drops in real movies than as a cohesive work of music.
Liked this one a lot! Would have been a playlist staple if I’d discovered it during the Obama era
This floored me. Leonard Cohen was the grandfather of every artist I’ve ever loved
I agree with everyone in these comments saying this was a little too derivative sounding of other 80s bands, but the thing is… it literally isn’t! It’s from 1979! One of the hardest parts of this challenge is trying to put an album in its own authentic context. This sounds like a copy because we’ve heard the music that it inspired (and yes, in some cases, did this style better) but these guys did it first. That has to bump this up a few levels. Some really great, weird, and totally surprising moments here. Also, this band had GREAT hair. Wish people still looked like that
let’s fuck and then talk about how much we HATE the GOVERNMENT (my dream)
